


I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)

by deathishauntedbyhumans



Series: MML Discord Drabbles [3]
Category: Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Angst, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, M/M, Pining, Unrequited Love, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18948742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathishauntedbyhumans/pseuds/deathishauntedbyhumans
Summary: Heinz confesses to his daughter that he thinks he’s falling in love with someone who’s not his nemesis.





	I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written before Perry and Doof (and Dakota and Cavendish) made up, and so it’s set sometime between their breakups on MML and the finale.

“I think I’m falling in love,” Heinz mutters, and his heart feels like someone is squeezing it the way Dakota had squeezed mustard out of the container earlier that day when they’d had lunch together. “That’s all, Vanessa.”   


He doesn’t expect his daughter to stop pestering him. No, he knows her much too well for that. He also knows her much too well to expect her to accept any lie he could possibly think to come up with. He just... hopes she’ll let him come to terms with that himself, and maybe change the subject to something more pleasant to spare her dear father some dignity.   
  
As per the norm, he has little luck on his side.   
  
Vanessa’s features crinkle into something soft and gentle. Pity, maybe? Concern? Heinz isn’t sure what to make of it. Vanessa doesn’t usually look at him like that. She might look at him with fond annoyance, or even disdain, but... this soft, sad-eyed look is brand new. He doesn’t like it one bit.   
  
“Oh, dad... Is this about Perry?” she asks, and Heinz waits for the familiar ache that usually takes him over at the mention of his former nemesis. It doesn’t come, and it makes him want to laugh and cry a little at the same time. “Because I keep telling you, he’s _trying._  He’s making an effort, dad, and you—“

“This isn’t about Perry the Platypus,” Heinz interrupts, like the typical _dunkoff_ he is. He can’t even let his daughter finish a sentence before he butts his abnormally large nose into places it doesn’t belong. He can’t help it, though: he doesn’t _want_ to talk about Perry the Platypus right now. 

He doesn’t really want to talk about Dakota, either, but he can’t ever seem stop himself from making things worse.   
  
Vanessa’s eyes go squinty, like she’s trying to gauge whether or not he’s lying. Her recent secret agent training with OWCA has been doing her well, Heinz can’t deny that; she’s always been a smart girl, but now she’s nearly unstoppable.   
  
“Oh,” Vanessa breathes after a moment of searching his face. Heinz tries to smile, but the expression doesn’t come as more than a twitch to his lips. He looks down at the floor, away from the prying eyes of his daughter, away from the pity or concern or (even worse) _understanding_ that’s dawning. “Oh, _dad_...”  
  
Later, Vanessa will sit next to him on the couch in her apartment —her apartment! His baby is growing up and he’s so proud of her!— and hand him a carton of dairy-free ice cream and a spoon. She’ll tell him all the things she’s learned about relationships at her young age, and Heinz will cling to his advice like a dying man clings to his last hope, because he doesn’t have anything else to hold onto. Later, Vanessa will explain to Heinz what a “rebound” is, and Heinz will wonder desperately if every feeling he’s ever had has been one.   
  
But for now, Vanessa just wraps her arms around him, and Heinz bites his lip —because he will _not_ cry in front of his beautiful, strong, incredible daughter— and hugs her back as tightly as he can.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m only here to write Heinz vague-talking about Dakota ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Kudos/comments are love! Come scream at me on tumblr @deathishauntedbyhumans.


End file.
